Remembrance Day - Yes, we remember them still

PUBLISHED: 11:33 16 November 2006 | UPDATED: 14:54 12 May 2010

THE crowds gather at Royston War Memorial to pay their respects on Remembrance Sunday

THERE was an extraordinary moment at the end of the Remembrance Day parade in Royston on Sunday. As the veterans marched towards the saluting base, spontaneous applause broke out from those who had come to be part of the service. It showed the mood of the

THERE was an extraordinary moment at the end of the Remembrance Day parade in Royston on Sunday.

As the veterans marched towards the saluting base, spontaneous applause broke out from those who had come to be part of the service.

It showed the mood of the hundreds who had gathered around the war memorial - an awareness of the task being undertaken today in Iraq and Afghanistan, and knowledge of the sacrifice of the victims of the First World War and Second World War and the conflicts between.

In all the Remembrance Day parades I have attended in Royston over the past 25 years or so, I cannot recall a time when appreciation of those from the past was so moving and appropriate.

This was the bridge between the past and the present: the link between history and current events.

And it was a theme emphasised by the Rev Les Harman, the vicar of Royston, in his address during the service.

He said: "There was a time as the veterans of the First World and Second World Wars grew older and died, that Remembrance Day would fade and die with them.

"This was confidently predicted by many, but as time has gone on, Remembrance Sunday and the Armistice observances have taken on a new lease of life.

"There is, I believe, a new sense of importance of what we are doing today."

Mr Harman stressed that this was not because "we are becoming more war-like or militaristic".

It was, he said, a "sober reminder" of the cost and devastation of war and conflict today.

Council leader Steve Count is planning a “gesture of unity” by handing back part of his allowance in support of the 1,800 county council staff forced to take unpaid leave this Christmas as part of cost saving measures.